(KOROR TRANSFORMED INTO
CHINATOWN 2015)
WHERE WILL PALAU BE IN 99 YEARS?
By Santy Asanuma
“Wow! This is quite a
transformation (klou el mlamengodech) in Palau since the last time I was here
last year. I have been to restaurants in Koror where everything is in Chinese
including the people. In fact, I have not seen more Chinese in all of
Micronesia than in Palau today,” said an Australian stationed in Marshalls who
has been visiting Palau few times in a span of last year and half. At night she would go to restaurants to eat
and could not believe her eyes that the streets of Koror are literally filled
with Chinese everywhere she looked. She was nice in saying her observation but
I could sense her obvious wonderment (mechas a rengul) why is this happening.
Nonetheless, this is the picture of Koror nowadays.
Base on the premise of the
reality of what is happening, we have to tweak everything in Palau to fit the
Chinese perspective or taste because it is economically lucrative (nguchul a
usisebelela udoud). In purely business sense for more money, this is the only
way to go. In fact, many young Palauans are now feeding on Shaowarmabeef
sandwiches and Pong Pong fried fish balls as if they grew up on them and have
become regular part of their diet. The locals are riding this wave of
excitement in trying new and exotic tastes like various cooked jellyfish and
sea cucumber dishes that were only available before to the jet travelling
Palauan public officials going to Taiwan, Hong Kong , and China. Now these
things are proliferating in Koror and are here to stay for the common Palauan
to enjoy anytime, more importantly, because the waves of visiting Chinese
tourists have to be fed with their own food.
The fight between two China has
finally reached our shores and well under way in the full blown spectrum of
Palauan society including land and everything on it. On one hand, Taiwan is our
dear friend and we have sealed our strong diplomatic relationship between the
two countries based on democratic principles. And this partnership with Taiwan
close to twenty years has proven beneficial to Palau’s development in terms of
stimulus by $10 millions every year. Of course, Palau is an ardent supporter of
Taiwan in UN second to none which is what Taiwan needs for its sovereignty. We
truly need each other. On the other hand, the mighty China is world super power
with an economy rivaling with US economy and has 1.7 billion people. The
obvious move for China would use economic means to come through the backdoor
into our living room sort of speaking.
The mainland Chinese are quite
clever to have acquired as many lands under 99 years policy throughout Palau.
They basically have cemented their strong hold and secure their right to be
here in Palau because the leasing program has unlimited renewal options. And
sociologically (tekoi er a klechad) there is no stopping the heirs of land
owners from getting more money hand outs or kickbacks (telechull malechub e
ngulimoim) from the Chinese tenants to make the land agreements virtually
endless. Moreover, there is no stopping Palauans during the tenure
(delengcheklir) up to 99 years from now in getting accustom (ke de mo smau),
and in fact, welcoming the idea of integrating and assimilating Chinese culture
into our own. I cannot help it but point out that young people are more tuned
and drawn to the sound of “pongyo” than “akii” in the local contemporary songs.
The transformation has begun
whether we agreed to it or not. But by mere observation around the world,
Chinese as a culture tend to be ethnocentric (ng diak murachem) and usually do
not blend well with other cultures. This is obvious in San Francisco and
Olongapo in Manila to name two places where Chinese people managed to build
their own separate communities commonly as “China Town.” Here in Palau it is
all over so there is no telling where China Town will be. In 2006, Solomon
Islands erupted in ethnic cleansing by burning down China Town which left over
1,000 Chinese residents homeless. Around 1906 Chinese laborers were imported in
a concerted move to help build the Solomon Islands so that exactly 100 years
after! We are building Palau but to what extent and direction?
WHERE WILL PALAU BE IN 99 YEARS?
Source: Ngarker Cholbechel
By Santy Asanuma "social compass"
santyasanuma@gmail.com
Tia Belau Newspaper
Page 6
Volume 24
Issue 18
March 02, 2015
